Mistakes Were Made
by RylCraig
Summary: "Suguha had used the NerveGear on the final day of the beta tests. He vaguely remembered accidentally launching SAO with Suguha's account. In other words, he looked like his sister. And a quick look at the hand mirror confirmed his thoughts." Slight OOC. Note: Major rework in progress.
1. Major overhaul in progress

**I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters.  
** **I do however, own Alyssa and Joran, and the story.**

 **Chapter 1: Wrong Gender**

"Whew! I didn't expect this many boars!" my sister complained with exasperation, while slicing yet another boar into mincemeat. It was true though, as there were more than twice the number of boars than when we had seen since the game's release. Alyssa swung her sword at a boar, and watched it disappear in front of her eyes. A dagger clattered noisily to the ground, even in the grassy hills of the first floor. She glared at me for yet again, stealing another kill. I shrugged and slung another dagger behind me. The same clattering noise. This time, it was a sword. I turned to my sister, who gave me a smug smile before turning to yet _another_ boar. Seriously? Where are the wolves?

Sword Art Online, the first Virtual Reality MMORPG to exist, had gained popularity even in places not conquered by Japan, namely, the United Kingdom, as that is where we reside. Kayaba Akihiko, the man who created SAO, had e-mailed me to be one of the one thousand beta testers to represent my country. Naturally, I accepted, but to this day I still do not know what made him approach me. When the official game was rumoured to release, I grabbed at the chance again. It was not until I arrived home where I realized I would already have a copy of the game, which I had pre-ordered due to my status of a Beta Tester. So, I bought a new NerveGear and gave the copy I bought to my sister.

Several more minutes passed by before the alarm I set rung. I glanced at the clock on my HUD, nearly time for dinner.

"Hey sis, we need to leave for dinner!" I shouted to the ever-increasing mass of boars. A spear flew past my head. "I shall take that as a yes." I threw several more daggers into the pile to clear a path, before turning towards the safe zone which coincidentally happened to be behind me. I started moving to the safe zone, until I could not move anymore. A cold feeling gradually spreads from my chest. My eyes twitched, working its way to take a look at the origins of the cold feeling. A really huge boar tusk, protruding from me. The hit points bar on my HUD slowly depleted before stopping at what would seem like one point of health, which in this case was actually one point, judging from the numbers under the bar that read **1/200.** The last thing I heard was a cry of my name and the sound of sweet metal grinding against leather.

 **A/N: This is the only section in the story to be narrated in first person.**

* * *

Kirito stared at the boy he saved. The person who he suspected was his sister had immediately rushed to his side to force a health potion down his throat. Wondering why they looked so familiar, Kirito asked them for their names, before realizing he could just read the username on their cursor for himself.  
"My name's Alyssa, and this is Joran."  
Never mind, they were not Japanese. This would make remembering their names harder. Or not, as he remembered his sister introducing them to him through Skype. This brought up a strange question, though.  
"Did you customize your characters?" he asked, the answer already obvious to him. He introduced himself as Suguha's cousin, Kazuto, instead of his username, Kirito. He trusted his sister had a good sense of trust.  
"Well, I did. But my brother didn't, so that is his real face."  
 _It's these moments that really remind me I'm not the smartest person, but it's unmistakable that this is the head I saw in Suguha's laptop. Speaking of which, she did mention they were in cosplay. Who was she dressing as again?_

"Seeing as you already know me, nice to meet you, Kirigaya-san. Suguha-chan told me a lot about her stick in the mud brother."

 _Ah well, this was to be expected. Now to just wait for Klein to finally catch up._

A groan was heard, from my mouth. I slowly inched my eyes open, to see three faces staring at me. One with pink hair, definitely my sister's avatar. One with red hair, who the heck is that? And one with black hair with the username of ' **Kirito** '...  
"Pardon for asking, but are you Suguha's brother?" He gave a nod, almost expecting another person to come by and introduce themself as a friend of Suguha. He was immediately followed by "Were you the one who saved me?" and "What nearly killed me?" At this point, Alyssa filled me in the details. The field boss had respawned within moments after he turned around, which just happened to be right in between me and my sister. Kirito took off running when he heard my sister scream and distracted the boss long enough for Alyssa to drag me into the safe zone I intended to log out in.

"Oh, that's right! Mum should be calling us for dinner by now!" I exclaimed. Alyssa and Kirito glanced at each other, grim expressions on their faces.  
"A-about that..." my sister muttered, "well, see for yourself." I did just so, remembering where the 'Log Out' button was in the beta.  
"What... why is it blank?!" I shouted. Karma decided to be an ass, and the toil of bells ripped across my eardrums.  
"A warning tone? What's going on?" I heard Kirito mutter before we were all engulfed by a blue fire. The next thing I knew, we were in the plaza.

* * *

 **[Cue the reveal until just before the mirror incident]**

* * *

 **"And lastly, I've prepared a present for all of you in your item storages. Take a look."**

Kirito opened his inventory, and after accounting all the items he had grinding boars, took a look at the new item. "A mirror?" he muttered, before pressing the 'Materialize' button to see what it was, along with everyone else in the plaza. Just then, Klein's cry could be heard as he was swallowed by a blue light. When more and more people started glowing, he realized he was still holding the mirror, just as the light enveloped him as well.

When he came out, he knew something was wrong. A person approached him, wearing the gear Klein had on him moments before, asking if he was alright. He nodded, and took a look at the people in the Plaza. Everyone looked different than they just were just a few seconds ago. Well, mostly everyone, as he stared at the two people he had saved from the field boss. The two did not change. That meant he had changed as well, as he stared at his hands. They had appeared slightly smaller than he was used to, but he dismissed that as the sudden change from his avatar to his real life looks. However, everything around him had seemed a lot smaller than he was used to, even in real life.

Height changes were not a wise choice when making an avatar you would control with your body, as it meant not correctly estimating your steps and, in most cases, lead to a fall until you got used to it. The same thing had happened in the beta tests, and Kirito noticed that halfway during the beta, Kayaba had restricted height changes to half an inch either shorter or taller. However, Klein appeared to be a good inch taller than he was now, when he could have sworn they were about the same height.

 _"Sugu.. ha?"_ was heard from Alyssa, which Kirito did not catch as he wondered about the causes for his noticeable height change. It was not until he processed what Alyssa said that everything clicked.

Suguha had used the Nerve Gear on the final day of the beta tests.  
He vaguely remembered accidentally launching SAO with Suguha's account.  
In other words, he looked like his sister.  
And a quick look at the hand mirror confirmed his thoughts.


	2. Little Nephenthes

**I do not own Sword Art Online or any of it's characters.  
** **I do, however, own Alyssa and Joran. And the plot.**

 **Chapter 2: Then There Were Three**

Joran did a double take when he heard his sister address Kazuto as 'Suguha'. Though he did not want to believe it, the short stature and hair length were undeniable. He tried translating his... _his_ cursor, but all his studying Japanese still had not prepared him for the real world. Luckily, all he had to do was pull up the goggles he had around his neck, which would help him translate Japanese into English. A gift found in his Inventory. "Kirito," he read aloud, hoping his sister could hear him in her oblivious daze. She did. According to conversations they had with her friend, Suguha almost never used a username that was not 'Leafa'. He drew the conclusion that yes, this was Kazuto, not his sister trying to imitate him.

Lost in his thoughts, Joran did not realise when Alyssa grabbed him to chase after Kirito. Said person had made off, red man in tow, while the others broke off into voracious chatter as the image of Kayaba dissolved. They ran for a good portion of town, before someone made an abrupt stop in a small alley, which Klein face-planted into, unprepared of the sudden stop. Kirito turned around.

"Listen up." Her voice was heard instead of his. Kirito winced at hearing his sister's words instead of his own.

"I'll be heading to the next town as soon as possible. You three should come too." At Klein's confused 'Huh?', he proceeded to explain about the ensuing chaos that was soon to be followed. About their need to level up as fast as they could. Besides, the two Beta Testers in the group could help the other two rookies forge a path through to the second town. Klein unfortunately declined, defaulting to his still-confused friends at the Plaza.

"How about this," Joran suggested, "You take my sister to the next town while I stay with this guy. That way, we have a way of communicating and ensuring the other doesn't die." Kirito thought it over, before Klein kindly declined the offer yet again. He said he would be capable enough to take care of his own, and revealed he was a guild member in a previous game. Kirito could see the look he had when speaking of his friends. Kindness. He nodded.

"See you then, Klein," he said. Before leaving, Klein urged the three to share Friend Requests, which Kirito grudgingly accepted. Then there were three. Alyssa grabbed my hand, long pink hair swaying in the wind, following Kirito to the next settlement, **Horunka Village**.

* * *

 _Mitometeta, okubyou na kako_

 **I'm joking. Let's continue the story.**

* * *

The trio approached the village they had been travelling to. After a long week of fighting monsters along the road, the three was exhausted to the bone. Despite being a solo player, Kirito could not help but be grateful of their presence. Many times along the road, he fell due to his shorter stature and was nearly sent to the trash can.

Upon entering the town, Kirito noticed a hair salon to the side. He would have disregarded it, if not for the small poster in the window that read 'Hair Extension'. Alyssa had mistakenly called him his sister too many times, he decided.  
"Don't follow me." He stated, and marched into the salon. Alyssa chuckled, as she looked at the board on top the door Kirito had just entered.

Kirito looked at the interface he was presented with upon sitting on one of the chairs. "Hair extension..." he muttered, and hit the button on the interface. He pressed 'Preview' at the bottom.  
Instantly, his hair grew to his waist. He observed his face in the mirror and shuddered. The green clips were still on. He proceeded to remove them, before messing around with more options in the menu. He came across a look he was comfortable in, and paid.

 **Thank you for visiting Kitty's Stylist. Your purchase will cost 10k Col.**

He choked. That was half his wallet gone. He abruptly stood up and left.

Alyssa stared at the new look Kirito gave himself. It didn't look like much, but he now looked nothing like Suguha, with long, black hair to the waist.  
"The hair dye isn't permanent!" he hissed at her. The longest lasting dye he could find had said it would only last five months. Alyssa giggled, while Joran looked at them with a confused look.

* * *

 _Slash. Hack. A cry, and a shatter. The cycle never stopped. The cycle never ended. Slash, chop, hack. A bell. Stop. Take a breath. Slash... clatter. His sword had dropped. Arms lowering, he reached for his blade, only to find that his hand passed straight through. He grabbed furiously at the pommel, the blade, anything, but no matter how hard he tried, it would never connect with his fingers. It would never reside in his palm. A glowing light, and...  
_ Two weeks ago, Kirito had the same dream. The last time it happened, Joran had to strap his hands onto the bed. "You were trying to pull your arm out," were his words. Kirito did not want to believe it, but his left arm inhibited marks that were not natural. He hated this body, his face fell on the ground as often as a person won rock paper scissors, his arms fell short of the intended wolf to be mauled. He did not feel smaller, he felt the world was larger, like entering a mall with the ceiling five meters away from your head. Except, he felt it all the time.

"Kirito! Did you accept the quest?" came a hurried query from Joran, as he strapped his quiver on. Kirito nodded, and set out. The reward from **Secret Medicine of the Forest** was the best one-handed sword you could obtain in Floor 1, able to be enhanced six times. The objective was to obtain an unknown drop from **Little Nephenthes**. Found at night in the forest. Kirito took a look at the other's weapons. Alyssa had her belt filled with throwing daggers, save two for close range combat, along with a small pouch which consisted of long, metal rods. Her stats had gone to Agility and Dexterity, although most went to speed. Joran had the beginner one-handed sword and a quiver strapped to his back in a cross, bow in his hand. Joran had went for Agility and Dexterity as well, balancing his stats between the two unlike his sister. Kirito himself ran a Strength and Agility build. He noticed they had swapped weapons, as when they began, Joran was carrying daggers and Alyssa had a sword at her side. That reminded him.

"Alyssa, why didn't you switch back to your original face? Didn't you say you customized your character?" It was a question he meant to bring up long ago, but was always distracted by the coincidental assault of dire wolves on their journey to **Horunka Village**.  
"Simple. I never took out the mirror."

Both heads sharply turned to look at her. She giggled, seeming to find the situation funny. "That was it?" Joran exclaimed, "I thought you dived while in cosplay!" Kirito sweat-dropped. Joran made a noise that sounded like a whimpering cat and that sent Alyssa into a fit of more giggles. Kirito sighed, before a guttural cry was heard, followed by the trampling of vines. The Nephenthes hoard had arrived. They really just looked like a bunch of moving pitcher plants with atrociously large mouths, but the two Beta Testers knew better. They were dangerous The three made a break for the small clearing to brace for the onslaught. Sure enough, many, many Nephenthes were found crawling their way into the clearing, fifty per person.

"J! Cover me!" Kirito cried, before rushing towards a tree and ran along the trunk of the tree. A Nephenthes jumped at him, but he was too high. He tilted his body back and let gravity take his body. His wrist strained under the force of his sword begging to rip away from his hands. The wind rushed by his ears, a steady howl. The impact jarred his wrist, but it successfully cut the plant in half. One down, hundred and forty nine to go. He felt a vine snake along his arm. trying to ensnare his hand, until it went still. He turned, a dagger impaled in the tree to his side. The vine had been lobbed off. He heard whistles in the air above him and another plant sank. Two down, hundred and forty eight to go. They went to work.

 _Slash. Hack. A cry, and a shatter._ Ten more were left. Corpses littered the ground below them. Kirito grumbled, and ran a hand through the ever increasing knots in his hair. He had to admit, he didn't look anything like Suguha now, with his hair grown to the waist. He still felt encased in a foreign body. He still tripped. He still expected hits when he was too far away, and most of all, the plants still looked huge. One could probably fit five of him. He could not think for long, as more were coming his way. However, they all stopped moving and a shrill scream pierced his eardrums. The Nephenthes stood still, silent and unmoving. He felt the slow wind tickle his side as he stood. And then, an explosion. A force that lashed out on his body and whipped his face several times over. Several plants shattered into fragments before his eyes. Only four remain.

Three plants emerged from the forest. However, they were twice as large as the others. Kirito noted the accessory-like item on their heads. One bore a flower, one a fruit, and one a wraith of vines. They launched into motion, taking the three by surprise. Kirito forced his legs to push out and perform a back flip. The numbness had left, introducing a stinging pain through his body. His limbs were protesting. The 'Giant Nephenthes' had chosen a target each. The flower had gone to Alyss, the fruit had made for Joran. He was left facing the crowned plant. His eyes glanced to his side. The four remaining **Little Nephenthes** formed a barrier between each of them, two on each side of Kirito. He tore his gaze away from his fighting friends to face the challenger.

Vines pierced through the earth and towards him. He ducked, took a step to the left, and lunged forward. More vines burst from the ground to form a shield. He slammed his foot hard into the ground. _The vines have thorns on them._ Whistles were heard behind and he let gravity take over, falling back and letting the vines swipe above his face. He was not fast enough, as a cut appeared on his face. A thorn had caught. He urged his limbs to move, turning his body around and using his slant to propel himself forward and away, hanging his sword out to cut through several ropes of green. _Slash, hack._ The plant launched itself at him. _Perfect,_ he thought. He jumped onto a tree trunk and kicked off. The plant reeled back in shock. He stilled his protesting wrist, holding the sword at an angle perpendicular to the ground. The sword pierced through the crown. He tried to land, but his legs gave and he impacted into the dirt, hands flailing, body spinning round, legs unresponsive. The two vine semicircles slowly landed onto the ground. Kirito had a view of the screeching plant. _It's over._ He cried in relief.

Until he couldn't. The two vines had gathered the remaining vines to form a large mass, long after the body had been obliterated. The two mounds slowly formed themselves into two massive hands. Shocked as he was, he did nothing. It was only after the hands clasped him in between them that he felt millions of pricks in his skin.

He screamed in a fit of panic. And pain. Why was there pain? There was nothing else he could do now, with his arms and feet wrapped tightly. His consciousness faded, a reasonable choice.

The screaming continued.

Alyssa was in the process of getting mauled by a giant plant with a mouth. What fun. She glanced at her health bar; half empty. The field boss threw another volley of homing seed missiles, and she exploded into motion. Arms tensed, fingers clenched tight, she scored the final blow. The beast screamed in defeat, but she heard something else. A familiar, high-pitch cry of terror. Before she knew it, her feet blurred into motion and she sped right between the two Little Nephenthes seperating the field. A quick look at Kirito's health bar had told her all she needed. Two blades clattered onto the ground, effectively ending the two plants.

She slammed her right foot at an angle, shooting left towards the massive ball of thorns. Green whips blurred and swung for her. She twisted left to dodge a strike, then leapt above another aimed at her shins. The attacks made her stop and provided a closer look at the ball of thorns. The vines were growing thicker, making blindless cutting now impossible. She approached the ball. Small gaps between the vined revealed a small red mass laying under the thick green.

Her hands flew to the picks in her belt, carefully extracting a metal rod. She took aim, paused for the skill, and let it loose. Miss. More vines entwined themselves around the now pulsating mass. She let another loose. Miss. The vines chasing her finally caught up, forcing her to leap backwards. The targer was now smaller, and further. Kirito's health dropped even lower, accompanied by an icon. A red droplet. She reached for the last pick on her possession, before reconsidering her decision. Instead, she drew out a needle used for sewing. She took aim. _Last chance,_ she thought. Her needle flew forwards.

Hit.

The screams from Kirito came to a stop. Vines withered and wilted, before fading into shards like so many monsters before. Kirito plummeted to the ground, unconscious. Alyssa knelt beside her, feeding a potion into his unmoving lips. The health bar rose, leaving the red zone. She sighed with relief. "Suguha would kill me if you died," she whispered in Japanese, giving his now waist-level hair a pat. A menu appeared beside her.

 **Last Attack Bonus (x2)**

 **\- Dagger of Thorns x2**  
 **\- ? ? ?**

A yell reminded her of the last person still fighting. She equipped her new daggers and joined the fight.


	3. Awkward Silence

**_Anna Lysis_ \- Thanks! I really appreciate the effort you put into this.  
 _Bunnyjump_ \- Thanks for pointing it out to me, I'll be sure to pen it into the summary.  
Special thanks to _Mr Miliardo_ for pointing out plot holes and for causing an indirect rewrite of the first chapter.**

 **A/N: Maybe I should have put this in the first chapter or the summary, but Kirito's slight OOC is caused by an earlier event before the story. This makes Kirito a little more social and sometimes blunt.**

* * *

Kayaba Akihiko sat in his virtual space hidden in Cardinal's systems. He called up a camera in his room to check that no, the police had not found where he was diving from. A yellow warning sign came up in his player HUD, warning him that Cardinal had flagged an event that denied the systems. Further prodding pointed him to the Pain system he had scrapped years ago. He sighed, might as well find out what was bothering Cardinal.

 **function Cardinal_[PainAbsorber = 10**

He placed his head in his palms and let loose a long sigh.

 **After the Field Boss**

"Hey, Kirito. Are you okay?"  
"No." Kirito tried to stand, but the pain in his legs sent him back down. He hissed, "Why did they add a pain system again?" Joran shrugged.  
"Maybe Kayaba just wanted to watch the world burn." Alyssa smacked him in the head for that. "Ow! Whatever did I do?"  
Alyssa smirked, "Ran out of arrows, swords, spare daggers, a shield… how did you 'run out' of a bow again?" Joran shrugged. Again.  
"I still have a sword, my armour, and a quiver. Not all is lost!" He said this whilst posing, which earned a groan from Alyssa. Kirito was about to question the supposed reference when Alyssa whacked her brother on the head. Again. He stared at them in his subdued position, and thought back to the field boss. If they were that hard, he had to raise his level further before tackling even just the labyrinth.

A message popped up in his player interface when he tried to stand again. 'function failed. Consult error log for more details'. He put it off as a developer fixing errors; it had happened enough in the Beta. The pain in his knees nearly sent him down again, but he caught himself. Joran noticed his efforts and offered a hand, which he reached to pull himself up.  
"Well, let us get that sword."

 **December 2nd**

A month had passed. More people had gotten killed, jumped off buildings, or disconnected in the real world. One month, and they were still stuck in the first floor. The players were losing hope.

Until today. A team found the boss room, and called for anyone interested in clearing the floor to a meeting. Joran and Alyssa had turned the offer down, and Kirito left the matter alone. After all, the three of them knew the risks they were taking.

Alyssa said she would attend the meeting, but would not participate in the battle until she levelled up enough to take care of herself. Joran had taken on the support role, preferring to supply potions and whatever utility he could get his hands on. Kirito remembered Alyssa's face as her brother told her all about the other skills in SAO; she had thought the game would be all about killing.

"Kirito! Let's get a move on!" shouted Alyssa as she weaved past the cluttered streets. Time to move. He stood and made his way to the conference.

 **The Conference**

"There's something I need to get off my chest," Kibaou announced, "I'm positive that there are some amongst you that should be apologising to those who've died so far."

Alyssa gave him a dry look, but only filtered through what he was saying. The others could take care of it if things got out of hand. Kibaou continued with his ranting, until a portion of his speech made it into her mind. "… kneel in apology and hand over the money and items they've been hoarding!" Her eyebrows twitched. _Did he just insult the beta testers?_ Thinking of her brother, she stood and made to pommel the man into the ground. She restrained herself when she caught sight of another player making a move. A really huge, muscular guy, muscles screaming strength. Agil, he introduced himself.

Alyssa winced, her trigger-happy fingers nearly earned her a reputation.

 **After the Conference**

Alyssa had gone her own way after Diabel disbanded the conference. She had wanted to meet up with an old friend of hers. Kirito, having nothing else to do for the moment, took a look around. He noticed the cloaked girl from before head into an alley. Nothing left to do, he decided to accompany her.

He noticed his reflection in a store window. Hands reached for the four clips attached to his face, but he stopped himself. It was getting harder to remind himself he looked like a girl now. He made a mental note to tell the girl that he was a guy despite how he looked. _Maybe I should have gotten shorter hair,_ he thought, before a memory reminded him about that one time Suguha came back with… no. Just, no.

Asuna plopped down and heaved a sigh of relief. She had survived another day in the many to come. Calling the interface with a flick, she extracted a piece of plain bread for consumption. She took a bite of the closest thing to actual food she could get her hands on. The other consumable items sold in stores always lacked a certain… _charm_ of food.

As she ate, another player approached and sat beside her. Her eyes flicked over to said player's face before returning to her food; It was just the girl she had formed a party with.

Silence.

Asuna heard the sound of an object being materialised. Bread, in this case.

Silence.

She noticed the girl glance at her, then back to her food. Her mouth opened for a moment, then snapped back shut.

"Did you want to ask me something?" Asuna questioned, earning a cough from the girl beside her.

"I-I just wanted to clarify something if we are to work as a team. At least, for now," The girl said as she turned to look in her eyes.

"I'm male."

Asuna sputtered and gave a look at the person sitting beside her. Surely a person with long hair and a girlish figure could not be a…

"Are you messing with me? You're definitely a girl with that chest." Asuna stated. This brought a tint to said person's face.

"This is my sister's body. I… accidentally used her account to dive." Asuna raised an eyebrow.

On an attempt to switch the subject, Kirito reached into his own interface and pulled out a small bottle. 'Two uses remaining' appeared on the bottle, and he made a note to get more after the boss was defeated.

"You know… the food here's good." Kirito said, and offered the bottle to her. Asuna accepted the bottle and tried to twist it open. Nothing. Kirito chuckled, and reached for the bottle again. He set it on the bench and showed her how to use it. Asuna watched as the white circle dissolved into a yellow substance on the bread. She did likewise for her own loaf. The sound of a shattering bottle hardly mattered, and she took a bite of the cream laced bread.

Needless to say, it was gone within two seconds.

Her sigh of contempt was all Kirito needed, and he smiled. He offered his hand and introduced himself, "Kirito."

Her reply was a nod and an "Asuna." No handshake.

The silence stretched again. Kirito started another attempt to break the silence. "Wha-"

"I didn't come to this game to enjoy food," Asuna stated, unwittingly answering the question. "I came here so I could remain myself. To fight. I'd rather live and fight instead of slowly losing hope in the Starting Town."

Kirito winced at the blunt statement. He had felt the same way back when the Death Game was announced.

"This world is something I will not give in to. No matter what." Asuna finished off. Kirito only gave a small nod. He turned his head to the night sky, devoid of stars.

The silence continued.

"You probably should not go revealing your gender dysphoria to everyone you meet."Asuna stated. Kirito stared at her in question. She sighed,

"Most people aren't... comfortable with a specific group of people."

Asuna watched Kirito's face morph from one expression to another in a second. An expression of confusion. Then, a look of realisation. Then, a shocked face.

His lips tensed into a line, and he stared at the horizon.

More silence.

"We should rest, tomorrow is a big day," Kirito announced, and left. Asuna stared at his last known position, wondering what that was all about. She shrugged it off, deciding to interrogate him about the weirdness at a later time. At that, she left for her own bed.

Tomorrow is another day, after all.

 **First Floor Boss**

The axe and shield clattered to the ground. They were on the final health bar.

Not that he could do anything. Kirito had his hands full keeping the Sentinels at bay. Or at least, with the one they were fighting. His hands shook at the impact of another strike, and called to switch even while he was delivering a strike to the Sentinel. The sound of screaming metal told him to drop. He did, just in time to witness a white blur strike the monster. It cried, and perished.

He glanced around, looking for another Sentinel, before deciding he had earned a short break. The Sentinels took time to respawn. Looking over, he watched the blue haired man from earlier charge in alone. _At this point, they should surround the boss._ And then he saw the weapon.

It was not the same weapon from the Beta version.

Kirito found himself in front of Diabel, sword horizontal to block the strike that had come from above. However, he had angled the blade slightly off and it bit into his palm, cutting off some health from his pool. The blue haired man stared at the player in front of him, most likely processing the events that had just happened. Wincing from the pain, he grabbed Diabel and tossed him towards the players behind. Illfang, seeing his prey denied, gave a roar worthy of a... rat? Rat. Kirito turned his attention to the beast in front of him, and pushed forward.

Asuna stared as the formerly-male player charged towards the formerly-and-still-a-rat boss. Horrified as she was, she noticed no one else rushing in to help the solo procession playing in front of their eyes. She spared a glance at the door behind her. Not today. She shook off the lingering feeling of fear and rushed in to help her party member.


End file.
